Telephone-exchange system.



H. P. CLAUYSEN. TELEPHONE EXCHANGE SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.5, 1916.

1,246,545. l Patented Nov. I3, 191]'.

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APPLICATIN FILED AUG.5. 1916y 1,246,545. Patented Nov. 13, 1917.

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'UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY P. CLAUSEN, OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO WESTERNELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORIORATION OF NEWYORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 13, 1917.

Application led August 5, 1916. Serial No. 113,285. 4

To aZZfwLom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY P. CLAUSEN, a cltlzen of the United States,residing at Mount Vernon, in the county of Westchester 'a switch of thistype in which rapid and accurate operation may be obtained.

A feature of the inventionl is the provision of driving mechanism commontol a number of lines and which may be utilized to operate movablecontacts individual toy said lines, the extent of motion of such tcontacts being determined by a stop common to the trunks towhich suchlines have access.

A further fea-ture of the invention is the use of line and cut-oil'relays which control mechanical 'operations in addition to performingtheir circuit-controlling functions.

The general operation ofpa preferred form of the invention is asfollows: a wiper rotates overan arcuate bank containing test terminalsof a group of trunks until an idle trunk" is located. During thishunting movement, a gear wheel is rota-ted, such gear wheel drawing outa toothed rack arranged to be operated bythe plunger of a solenoid. Ashaft having a ratchet connection to such gear wheel is provided with aplurality of gear wheels individual to subscribers lines. When asubscriber initiates a call, his line relay forces a rack bar intoengagement with a ear wheelon the common shaft, such rac bar beingarranged to move a brush set over trun terminals upon rotation ofsaid-gear wheel. The line relay also completes a circuit for thesolenoid, which attracts its lunger, rotatin the shaft and causing theIbrush set indivi ual to the line calling to come to rest on theterminals of the selectedtrunk. A cut-oii` relay is then energized toallow the subscribers rack bar to be drawn from engagement with itsassociated gear'wheel, the bar being held in its elevated position. bya'pawl controlled by the cut-oif relay. The .cut-oil' relay alsoperforms the Vusual circuit-controlling functions. The test wiper isthenl again stepped over the master bank contacts 1n search of the nextidle trunk. It is obvious that the extent of motion of the toothed rackoperated by the solenoid is determined by the position assumed by thetest wiper.

It is thou ht the invention will best be understood rom the followingdetailed description of the structure and operation of the switch,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the switch structureembodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of thesame; Fig. 3 is a detailed view of a lock-out bar; and Fig. 4,illustrates diagrammatically circuits, suitable fory causing the desiredoperation of the switch. In the drawings like reference charactersindicate like parts.

A shaft 1 is rotatably mounted and carries a vplurality of gear wheels2, therebeing a gear wheel 2 individualto each calling subscriber.Associated with each'gear wheel 2 is a rack bar connected by a link 4 toa brush carriage 5. Rack bar 3 is normally held out of engagement withwheel 2 by the action of a spring 6 through the action of a link 7pivotally connected at one end to a vmounted, and pivotally connected atits other end to the armature` 9 of a line relay 10. A cui-foif relay 11is arranged to operate a set of contact springs indicated at 12 and apawl 13 which may be forced into engagement with a series ofnotches 14on rack bar 3, against the tension of a spring 15 to hold the bar in itselevated position. A sleeve 16 is rotatably mounted on shaft 1 andcarries fixedly secured to it a ratchet wheel 17 and a gear wheel 18. Aratchet connection is secured between gear wheel 2 and gear wheel 418 bymeans of an arm 19 and a dog 20. Gear 18 is engaged by a rack bar 21,which is held in position by a roller 22. At one end of rack bar 21 issecured a magnetic plun er 23 arranged for attraction by asolenoi 24.Wipers 25, 26 secured to ratchet wheel 17 are arranged to rotate with itand to swing over contact sets 27, 28 for a purpose to be hereinafterdescribed. Contact springs 29 individual to each line are arranged to beoperated by an insulated knob 30 carried by arms 31 actuated by a commonbar 32, which in turn is actuated by a pivoted lever 33 which is movedwhen plunger 23 approaches the limit of its movement under control ofsolenoid 24, the extent of movement of plunger 23 and lever 33 beingdetermined` by a stop 34. Lever 33 is normally held retracted by aspring 35. Ratchet Wheel 17 is arranged to be rotated in acounter-clockwise direction by a pawl 36 actuated by armature 37 of astepping magnet 38. A locking bar 39 is arranged to be operated by anarmature 40 of a locking magnet 41 and is pro.- vided with notches 42,as best seen in Fig. 3, with which projections 43 on rack bars 3 mayengage when such rack bars are driven into engagement with one of gearwheels 2.

IWhile the ratchet wheel 17 is being stepped to carry wipers' 25 intoengagement with contacts of an idle trunk, magnet 41 is energized tomove bar 39 to the right sothat if a call comes in at this time, therack 3 individual to such line cannot be forced into engagement with itsassociated gear wheel 2, since slots 42 are now out of alinement withprojections 43.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the operation of circuits suitable for use withthis switch is as follows. Assuming first that the-wiper 25 has movedinto enga ement with the contact 27 of an idle trun the rotary motion ofratchet wheel 17 will have actuated gear wheel 18 to draw out rack 21 adistance such that on its return movement a gear Wheel 2 will drive asubscribers brush set carried by his rack 3 into engagement with theterminals of the selected trunk, as previously described. An incomingsubscribers line is represented by conductors 50 and 51. When thesubscriber removes his receiver from the hook a circuit is completedfrom ground, inner upper armature and back contact of cut-ofi relay 11,line 51, substation apparatus of the called subscriber, line 50, outerupper armature and back contact of cut-ofi relay 11, right-hand windingof line relay 10, to grounded battery. Relay 10 is energized andattracts its armature, forcing rack 3 into mechanical engagement with agear wheel 2 and closing at its front contact a circuit from groundedbattery, armature and front contact ofrelay 54, conductor 55, relay 56,conductor 57, armature and back contact of relay 58, conductor 59,left-hand winding of relay 10, contact 60, and armature and frontcontact of relay 10, to ground. It should be noted at this point lthatrelay 54 is energized at all times when there is an available trunk, butwill be denergized when the last trunk relay 61 operates to remove thelast of the multiple connections to ground from conductor 62. Contact 60is closed except when the plunger 23 is fully attracted by soleniod 24at which time contact 63 is closed by the operation of common lever 33and arm 31.

Relay 56 is energized and completes a circuit from grounded battery,armature and front contact of relay 54, conductor 64, Winding ofsolenoid 24, to ground at the armature and front contact of relay 56.The solenoid 24 attracts plunger 23 and withdraws rack bar 21, rotatingwheel 18, and the action of dog 20 and arm 19 Causes the subscribersgear wheel 2 to be rotated an equal amount. The rotation of gear wheel 2causes vertical movement of rack 3, which moves -a brush set 65, 66, 67into engagement with terminals 68, 69, 70 of a selected trunk, theextent of motion of rack 21 being determined by the position assumed byWipers 25 and 26, as previously described. When plunger 24 is fullyattracted, contact 60 is opened and contact 63 is closed by the actionof arm 31, whereupon a circuit 1s completed for cut-off relay 11 fromgrounded battery, winding of relay 11, contact 63, and armature andfront contact of relay 10, to ground. Cut-off relay 11 attracts itsarmatures and at the same time throws pawl 13 into engagement with oneof the teeth 14 on the side of rack 3 to maintain the bar in itselevated position. At its upper armatures, cut-off relay 11 opens thecircuit of right-hand winding of relay 10, and since the circuit throughthe lefthand winding was broken by the action of arm 31, relay 10 isdenergized. When relay 10 is denergized it withdraws rack 3 fromengagement with gear Wheel 2 by the action of spring 6, as previouslydescribed. At its upper armatures and front contacts, relay 11 connectslines 50 and 51 to brushes 65 and 66-,-and since the brush set 65, 66,67 has been positioned on terminal set 68, 69, 702 relays 61 and 71 areenergized over a circuit 'from grounded battery, winding of relay 71,terminal 68, brush 65, upper armature and front contact of relay 11,line 50, sub s tation apparatus of the calling subscriber, llne 51,inner upper armature and front contact of relay 11, brush 66, terminal69, Windin of relay 61, 'to ground.

hile Wiper 26 was resting on terminal 28 individual to the trunkselected by the common selecting mechanism, a circuit was closed forslow-release relay 72 from grounded battery, conductor 73, terminal 28and its Wiper 26, `resistance 74, to ground. Relay 72is energized inthis circuit and remains energized for a suiiicient length of time afterWiper 26 has been restored to normalv by the action of solenoid 24, toallow. the cut-ofi relay 11 to lock up over a circuit from groundedbattery, winding of relay 11, its lower armature and front Contact,brush 67, terminal 70, and the armature and front contact of relay 7 2to ground. This locking circuit of relay 11 is divertedto ground at thearmature of relay 71 as soon as that relay is energized, and the cut-offrelay 11 is therefore maintained energized as long as the brush setremains on the terminals of the trunk.

While wiper 25 was restin on a terminal 27 individual to an idle trunrelay 75 was energized over a circuit from grounded battery, winding 4ofrelay 75, wiper 25, terminal 27, to ground at the amature and backcontact of relay 71. When wiper 25 is restored to its normal position bythe `action of solenoid 24, relay 7 5 is denergized, closing atits'armalture and back Contact a circuit from ground, amature and backcontact of slow-release relay 56, armature and back contact. of relay 75steppin,c` magnet 38, slowrelease magnet 58, interrupter 76, tolgrounded battery aithe armature and front contact of relay 54. Thecircuit of magnet 38 is made and broken successively by interrupter 76.ln response to 'the operation of ma net 38, ratchet wheel 17 is steppedaroun carrying 4'with it wipers 25 and 26 and gear wheel 18,which drawsout rack 21. As soon as wiper 25 arrives on a contact 27 associated withan idle trunk, vwhich idle condition would be represented by ground onsuch terminal 27 due to the denergized condition of relay 71, a circuitis closed vfor relay 75 Jfrom grounded battery, winding of relay 75.wiper 25, terminal 27, and the amature and back contact of the relay 71of such idle trunk. Relay 75, at its left-hand armature, opens thepreviously tracedv circuit of mag- 'net 38 and allows wiper 25 tocoineto rest on terminal 27 of such idle trunk. At this time rack bar 21 willhave been drawn out a distance such that on its return it will move thebrush set of the next calling subscriber a distance sufficient to placesuch brush set in engagement with the terminal of the selected trunk. l'y While relay 75 was denergized, a circuit was closed for locking magnet41 from grounded'battery, winding of magnet 41, to ground at theright-hand armature and back contactof relay 75. Magnet 41 attracts itsarmature and moves bar 39 to the right 'to prevent rack 3 being driveninto engagement with a gear wheel 2 during the hunting operation oftheswitch, should a call be initiated during such hunting operation. l

.When the last available trunk is seized, relay 54 will be decnergized,sincegthe last of its multiple connections to ground will have beenremoved when relay 61 of such last available trunk is energized. Nohunting will take place at this time, since the circuit of steppingmagnet 38 is held open at the armature and front contact of relay 54. Assoon, however, as a trunk becomes available, relay 54 will againenergize due to the denergization of relay 61 associated with suchavailable trunk, and the circuit of magnet 38 will be completed to movetheimaster mechanism into position to select'suc'h trunk.

If there should be only one trunlc available and the wiper 25 should,for any reason, step past the contact of such trunk, the motion of wi er25 would continue to the end of the series of contacts, since no groundwould be. found. On the eleventh step, Wiper 26 engages an extra contact76, whereupon a circuit is closed from grounded bat# tery, armature andcontact of relay 54, conductor 55, relay 56, conductor 77, contact 7 6,wiper 26, resistance 74, to ground. Relay 56 is energized and completesa circuit from grounded battery, armature and contact of relay 54,conductor 64, winding of solenoid 24, to ground at the armature andfront contact of relay 56. Rack 21 is then fully rel tracted by solenoid24 and hunting again takes place in the manner previously described.

After a trunk has been seized and relay 72 has been denergized, acircuit will be completed for a trunk signal 78 from grounded battery,signal 78, armature and back'contact of relay 72, to ground at thearmature and front contact of relay 61 which, it will be remembered, wasenergized when the trunk was seized. A connecting operator at O, one ofwhose connecting cord plugs is indicated at 79, upon observing thedisplay of signal 78 'inserts plug 79 into a jack 80 in which the seizedtrunk terminates, whereupon relay 72 is energized over a circuit fromgrounded battery, winding of relay 72, sleeve contact'of jack 80, sleeveof plug 79, t0 ground. From this point the connec-l tion may beestablished in any' desired manner.

When conversation is completed, the oper ator at O is informed by theoperation of well-known supervisory signals that connection is no longerdesired. She thereu on removes-plug 79 from jack 80. When t e callingsubscriber replaced his receiver on the hook relays 61 and 71 were.denergized. The removal of plug 79 from jack 80 allowed relay 7 2 to'denergize. The locking circuit of cutoff relay 11 is now broken and itdeenergizes, thereby withdrawing holding pawl 13 from engagement withone of the teeth 14 on the side offrack. Rack bar 3 is then drawndownward to its normal position under the control of a spring 81. 4Thetrunk is now in condition to be again selected and the apparatusindividual to the calling line is in its normal condition, ready toreceive another call.

What is claimed is:

1. In a telephone exchange system, incoming and outgoing lines, anautomatic switch for interconnecting said lines, movable contactsindividual to said incoming lines, driving mechanism therefor common tosaid inf coming lines, a single constantly effective stop for saiddriving mechanism, and means for associating a movable contact with saiddriving mechanism, the `extent of motion of said movable contact beinglimited by Said stop.

2.v In a telephone exchange system, incomin and outgoing lines, anautomatic switch for interconnecting said lines, mov- 4able contactsindividual to lsaid incoming lines, driving mechanism therefor common tosaid incoming lines, means common to said incoming lines for selectingan idle one of said outgoing lines, said drlving mechanism being movedfrom its normal position a distance dependent upon the position assumedby said selecting means, a single stop for said driving mechanism, vandmeans for associating a movable contact with said driving" mechanism,the extent of motion of said movable contact being limited by said stop.

3. In a telephone exchange system, incoming and outgoing lines, anautomatic switch for interconnecting said lines, movable contactsindividual to said incomlng lines, driving mechanism therefor common tosaid incoming lines, means common to said incoming lines for selectingan idle one of said outgoing lines, means for associating a movablecontact with said driving mechanism, and means for preventing suchassociation while said selecting means is operating.

4. In a telephone exchange system, incoming and outgoing lines, an yautomatic switch for interconnecting said lines, movable contactsindividual to said incoming lines, driving mechanism common to saidincoming lines, means common to said incoming lines for selecting anidle one of said outgoing lines, said driving mechanism being moved fromits normal position a distance dependent upon the position assumed bysaid selecting means, means for associating a movable contact with saiddriving mechanism to connect an incomin line with -a selected outgoingline, said se ecting means being restored to normal by the operation ofsaid drivin mechanism, and means for causing said se ectingmeans ltohunt for an idle outgoing line immediately after having been restored toits normal position.

5. In a telephone exchange system, incoming and outgoing lines, anautomatic switch for interconnecting said lines, movable contactsindividual to said incoming lines, driving mechanism common to saidincoming lines, means common to said vincoming lines for selecting anidle one of said switch for interconnecting said lines, movable contactsindividual to said incoming lines, driving. mechanism therefor common tosaid incoming lines, means for associating a movable contact with saiddriving mechanism to establish connection between an incoming line andan outgoing line, a circuit for controlling said driving mechanism, andmeans for interrupting the driving circuit of said mechanism when all ofsaid outgoing lines are busy. f

Inwitness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 4th day of AugustA. D. 1916.

HENRY P. oLAUsEN.

